Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a cable end connector assembly, and particularly to a high speed cable end connector assembly for use in INFINIBAND(trademark) application.
As demands for high bandwidth and low latency in computer technology increase, the emerging INFTNIBAND(trademark) architecture is being developed by the information industry. INFINIBAND(trademark) architecture de-couples an I/O subsystem from memory by utilizing point-to-point connections rather than a shared bus. InfiniBand(trademark) products are ideally suited for clustering, I/O extensions, and native attachment in many network applications and can be used in high-performance server applications, providing a cost-effective transition from existing technologies.
To achieve the technology performance of the INFINIBAND(trademark) architecture, an INFINIBAND(trademark) product must provide a sufficiently large number of signal contacts with a fairly fine pitch for signal transmission. Thus, the InfiniBand(trademark) product has a relatively complex structure. An INFINIBAND(trademark) cable end connector assembly comprises a base, a cover mounted to the base, and a cable connector module assembled between the cover and the base. The cable connector module comprises a cable accommodating a plurality of lines each comprising a signal pair and a grounding conductor, a plurality of shielding plates respectively electrically connecting with the grounding conductors, a plurality of spacers to which the lines and the shielding plates are assembled, and a plurality of signal and grounding terminals. The signal pairs of the cable and the shielding plates are respectively soldered on signal and grounding traces disposed on a rear end of an inner circuit board. Rear ends of the signal and grounding terminals are soldered on a front end of the inner circuit board. Thus, the signal pairs of the cable electrically connect with the signal terminals, and the grounding conductors electrically connect with the grounding terminals via the shielding plates. However, the existence of the spacers inevitably complexes the structure of the InfiniBand(trademark) cable end connector assembly and increases the manufacturing cost. This is no doubt out of the current trend.
Hence, a cable end connector assembly for INFINIBAND(trademark) application with a relatively simple structure and lower manufacturing cost Is required to overcome the disadvantages of the related art.
A first object, therefore, of the present invention is to provide a cable end connector assembly with a relatively simple structure and a lower cost.
A second object of the present invention is to provide a cable end connector assembly having an improved grounding plate structure which can terminate a grounding wire of a cable conveniently.
In order to achieve the objects set forth, a cable end connector assembly comprises a base, a cover fixed on the base, and a cable connector module mounted between the cover and the base. The cable connector module comprises a cable, a plurality of shielding plates, and a plurality of terminals. The cable comprises a plurality of lines each having a signal pair and a grounding conductor. The signal pair comprises a first signal conductor and a second signal conductor. Each shielding plate defines a retaining portion. The grounding conductors are respectively received into and soldered with the retaining portions. Each of the signal pairs is located between two neighboring shielding plates. The first and second signal conductors of each of the signal pairs are located at an upper position and a lower position, respectively. The terminals are electrically connected with the grounding conductors and the signal conductors.